Come as you are
by coffeewithtwosugarplease
Summary: What if nothing is as it seems? What if you get to know a wonderful man and you have to ly to him about your whole life. Could there be a happy ending?
1. Chapter 1

When Charlie finally arrived at the restaurant, she spent a long time mentally complaining to herself that she had decided against taking a cab. Of course it began to rain when she was half the way and of course her umbrella laid, perfectly save and warm, on her drawer. So she travelled the way from the station to the restaurant at a run and was glad when she saw the restaurants entrance. After she had given her coat to the waiter and had been led to her table, her thoughts took another direction.

"Geez! What am I doing here? And WHY am I doing it?" She sat down at the table, laid for two, with her view turned to the other guests; some old habits just die hard. She put her bag besides her, took her mobile out and laid it on the table. "You REALLY need a smartphone, Charlie!" she could hear Tessa's voice, as if she sat right beside her. Tessa, her neighbours 16year old granddaughter, fascinated by all what Charlie used to call "modern stuff" and talking, talking, talking to her about the benefits of smartphones until Charlie thought her head had to burst. She had given in and now this small, pink ("you HAVE to take a pink one, Charlie, of course, you are a woman!")... THING laid next to her. Oh, she has not been unhappy with her oldfashioned mobile, just good enough to call and being called and she couldn't decide if she really would need all these features. But, well... she sighed silently... Tessa just meant it well and maybe she and her pink mobile will be friends some day.

Her thoughts turned back to the restaurant. Here she was, styled and with a new haircut, just waiting for a man, she currently just knew virtually. "Dave"... of course she knew that this wasn't his real name; she probably knew more of him than he would have preferred. Every time, the tinkle of this ridiculous windchime, hanging over the entrance door, announced a new guest, she looked up covert. And so it was this time; a man came in, looked around, obviously seeking someone, then turning round to the waiter. At this moment, she allowed herself to take a look at his striking profile. He looked good, but it was conspicuous that he had also had some bad times in his life. When he turned round and came her direction, her breath stopped... Should HE be..? But he passed her table and sat down at the table next to her, giving her another chance to sight his profile. His table was laid for two too, she noted, surprisingly, a little disappointed.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought her white coffee, in proper style in a bowl, how she noticed with a little smile to the waiter. She grabbed her spoon; in the moment, she pulled it up from the sugar box, her phone made a little sound. It was so unexpected, that she winced and the spoon fall directly into her bowl with a clank. "Damn!" She swore subdued. Drops of coffee were all around the bowl and also on her dress. When she grabbed the napkin to erase the drops, the next thing that fell down was her mobile. With a little murmur she bend forward to feel out the phone on the floor. When she rose from under the table, she met HIS amused eye. Not that as well! She had been very good in making herself a fool in sight of others for her whole life.

With another little sigh, she grabbed her phone to see what caused the sound. It was a message. "I' m sorry, something cropped up. Dave!" "What the...?" With a frowning, she read the message, then lowered her phone and looked around in the restaurant. Out of the corner of her eyes it appeared to her that someone was watching her, hided in the crowd at the bar.. Could it be...? A suspicion raised in her mind and she looked to her phone. With a vigorous swipe she unlocked it, scrolled hard until she'd found what she was looking for. She crossed her arms in front of her breast, the phone held in her hand... not bothering holding it on to her ear. A few seconds later she heard a quiet ringing and just a moment later, a man from the bar stumbled out of the restaurant. With an angry snort, Charlie threw the mobile in her bag. "Thank you, Tessa, for your »geoooorgeous« idea, to check out some men for me! What an idiotic plan!" She felled back on her seat, grabbed the bowl of coffee and held it in both hands, enjoying the warmth and inhaling the smell of the coffee. When she opend her eyes again, once again she catches HIS eye. She smiled apologizing and with a resigned struck, then turned back to her coffee. And also to her own thoughts. What should she tell Tessa, when she asked about her date? She never would give in to such an idea! Maybe she should tell Tessa a good story about a wonderful date...

She lifted her head, when she heard a quiet voice and the tinkle of some dishes. The waiter had cleared away one place setting from the side table, HE seemed to make a order from the waiter.

Charlie gave the waiter a hint. "Please clear one place setting from my table too! And say..." she bend forward, taking a short glimpse on his name tag "Andrew, what did my neighbour ordered from you!?" "Oh, he ordered a whisky! Looks like he had been stood up!" he added confidential.

Charlie gave up to her gut instincts and grabbed her bag to dig in it for her shabby moleskine; she pulled out a sheet and asked Andrew for his pen. "...wait a second please!" she told Andrew while scribbling a short note on the sheet. "Would you please serve this note with the whisky?" Andrew took the note with a wise little smile and turned around.

When John arrived at the restaurant, he took a moment in front of the entrance to shake the rain off his jacket, before he entered and looked around with narrowed eyes to get accustomed to the dim light inside. The restaurant was filled with people as he looked around searching, then the waiter stood by his side. "Mr Watson, your escort isn't here now. May I lead you to your table?" But John didn't answer, he went straight on to his table. It was the same as the last time he had met Sarah; he wanted to try a completely new start. He had spent hours over hours to tell his roommate NOT to come and crash another of his dates. He was so deep immersed in his thoughts that he didn't recognize the hopeful flash the woman at the side table gave him as he passed her. He sat down on his chair; while waiting for Sarah, his thoughts went back to her date two weeks ago.

Sarah had been far from pleased, when Sherlock suddenly appeared and hadn't stopped babbling about "corpse, the fourth, message, need assistance" John had tried his best to induce him to JUST DISAPPEAR, but when Sherlock had taken a chair, sat down at their table and began to talk about all those bloody details, D.I. Lestrade had given him in advance, he retreated once more. Very pleased, so it seemed, Sherlock observed how Sarah left table and restaurant hastily. "Weak stomach, obviously!" John had tried to take a deep deep breath, before he began to talk. When he did, his voice was bristling with suppressed rage. Sherlock listened with a friendly smile to what he had to say and stood up the second, John stopped. "Brixton, Lauriston Gardens! Come on!"

John rubbed his forehead while thinking about this miserable moment. Since this evening he had sent, it seems, a million messages to Sarah: excuses, pleases for another chance. And now he was here again. A look at his watch showed him merciless that his chances got smaller and smaller with every round of the sweep hand. He waited 20 minutes for now - and Sarah wasn't known for unpunctuality. More thoughts of Sarah were broken by a quiet beep, a short squeal and a tinkle. While emerging to present, he realized that the noise came from the side table. Obviously, the woman there had been frightened by the noise of her mobile so hard that her spoon had fallen down from her hand. With one glimpse he scanned the person; just to realize one second later amused that he spent too much time with Sherlock. Even in a restaurant, without any cause, he felt like he should make an checklist of the people who surrounded him. At the end of 30, dark haired, nice figure, underlined from a long-sleeved dress. When she grabbed the napkin to swipe away the drops the coffee made, the mobile that laid beside her ("another one with a date!" he thought with an inner smile) fell down too. He was amused while watching her bend down and fishing with her hand for her mobile on the floor. She finally found it and rose from under the table. The beep he heard seemed to come from a message, she got. No really a good message, as it seemed. While reading, her face turned really grim. She looked around in the restaurant and John was really glad that he wasn't in the spot of her eye.

Then she lifted the phone and John needed no Sherlock instincts to see that she was far from being happy. She swiped angrily on the display, held the phone in front of her breast, what made John frown. But then he heard a quiet ringing from the bar, a short while later he saw a man, leaving the restaurant in a hurry. He watched her throwing the mobile back to her bag regardlessly, then his thoughts turn back to his own business. Sarah was delayed over 30 minutes now and with a desperate sigh he had to acknowledge to himself that Sherlock managed once more to undermine his efforts for a normal social live. He was such a really weird guy! He gave the waiter a hint and asked him to clear up one place setting from his table. And to serve him a whisky.

When the waiter came with his whisky, he was surprised that he placed it in front of him with a conspiring twinkle in his eye. With raising the glass, he saw the little, crinkled note beneath it. He unfolded it, read it one time, then another time.

»If you are yet to get drunk, then please let me join you!"

Once again, the analytical part of his brain took the lead; he had really spent too much time with Sherlock, not long and his deductions will get better than the ones his roommate used to surprise all. Big, curved letters, female writing ("Oh, brilliant, Watson!" he scolded himself mentally) He lowered the note, leant back in his chair and rubbed his forehead while thinking. Sarah wouldn't give him any more chances, her statement, not to appear to their date, was more than clear. He lifted his head, turned around, searching and finding her glimpse, smiled and opened his arms in an inviting gesture.

Charlie's breath stopped for a moment, when he turned her way and smiled. "That smile...!" All other thoughts were completely erased from her mind, before she called herself to order. "Keep calm! Relax!" She took her bag and her coffee and stepped over to his table. Suddenly, all her former spontaneity with the note was blown away and she was excited and shy. She took a deep breath and tried to suppress the shivering in her voice. "Thanks a lot for your invitation!" Her voice caused creeps on his back and he smiled. "Pleasure! Seems like we both were stood up this evening!" Suddenly, a dark cloud seemed to go over her face, when she sat down towards him. "Oh! Men...!" she grumbled. A second later she realized what she said. Did she said it out loud? His amused smile said yes. "Oh... No!" she stuttered. "I didn't mean YOU, of course. Oh...!" She lowered her head with a resigned sigh, took a deep breath and looked up at him. "So! Please let us start again from the beginning... My name is Charlie Leicester und if we really plan to get drunk, I need to eat something before! Otherwise I'll dance on the table after the first sip of my whisky!" She smiled and pointed at her tables direction. "I would have brought my plate with me, but.. well... as you maybe recognized, I'm a little bit awkward!" John couldn't prevent a big grin. "Yes, you're right! Oh, please excuse... John Watson!" He smiled a little shyly; since his name appeared in the newspapers, thanks to Sherlock, people react in a million different ways after he mentioned his name. But Charlie just answered her smile. "It's a pleasure... John! So, will you eat something with me?" She turned around and gave Andrew a hint and ordered a new place set, the menu and another whisky.

After Andrew had brought the whisky, she took a big sip, watched by John in surprise, but then she shook as the warm fire went down her throat. "Wow! Maybe I should switch to a cocktail!" Her cheerful laughter made his heart jump around in his breast. "So, Charlie? What are you doing, if not getting stand up in a restaurant?" Charlie took another deep sip of whisky, before she rose her head - and was hit by a look of his breathtaking grey eyes. For a short moment she had to think of the sky on a rainy day. "Oh, I'm self-employed and doing different things. And you...? Do you often get little notes while sitting in a restaurant?" John grinned again. "Oh, no! Not after I left school. I'm a doctor, I was in Afghanistan and now I'm working as a substitute a few days a week in a doctor's office. I..." He was stopped in his sentence because the mobile in his pocket pinged. With an apologizing smile, he grabbed it out of his jacket and opened the message.

Did your smarmy approach came to fruition? - SH

Leave me alone, just this single time! - JW

He smiled apologizingly while he put back the mobile into the pocket. "My roommate!" "Oh, tell me more!" Charlie laughed her little laughter that made his heart beat faster and John was on the verge of telling her EVERYTHING! With some difficulty he restrained himself from that thought, talking to himself to take one step after another. For this reason, he just made a defensive gesture. "Oh no, I won't bore you with ridiculous details about him!"

*ping*

Will you stay outside the home overnight? -SH

"What the...!" John took a deep breath before sinking back the phone into his jacket. "This man will screw me up someday. Maybe one day, I'll just grab his damn mobile and throw it out of the window!" He murmured angrily. In the meantime dinner was done and John had ordered his second whisky, which seemed to go directly to his head. Charlie showed him a lopsided grin. "Why don't you just switch off..?" At this moment, the reason of her question began to ring. "I'll have to... He won't stop.." John stuttered while grabbing the phone. "Give it to me!" Without minding his objection, she took the phone out of his hand, looked at the display and answered the call. "Listen. Sherlock! Dr Watson will be available for you tomorrow. Tonight, he is MY date and I would appreciate if you won't disturb any longer!" The second, the words tumbled out of her mouth, she threw her hand to her mouth. Did she really said all this out loud?

*ping*

That wasn't definitely NOT Sarah's voice. Watson, you charmer! See you tomorrow! - SH

"..tonight he is MY date..." Charlies words seemed to echo in Johns whisky confused head in a continuous loop. Only when Charlie stared at him with a confused look he realized that he sat there, wearing a dumb smile on his face. He hemmed embarrassed. "Well, now you know my roommate. Or, more precisely, he knows you!" John grinned lopsided. "Are you okay with this? What's the matter with him?" "Oh" John laughed. "That's something you'll have to find out yourself, I think! But not tonight. As you said, I'm your date and I don't think he should join us on our first date!" He abandoned himself to an impulse and took her hand, which feels smooth and small in his. He held it with his left, while his right hand traced the contours of her fingers. Besides, he used this intimate moment to take a more precise look at her hand: tender skin, short fingernails with pastel pink polish, no ring. When he rose his eyes, he recognized to his surprise, that her eyes were shut and she obviously enjoyed his tenderness. As if she sensed his glimpse, she smiled wide and whispered without opening her eyes: "If you won't stop, I swear I'll begin to purr!" John joined her laughter. The thought really pleased to him, but before he could continue, a melody sounded from her side of the table. "Oh, no! Not yet, Rosie!" With a sigh, she pulled back her hand and took her mobile. "Please excuse me!" With short words, she answered the call. "Rosie!... No, no I'm not at home... Ah... Why does Kim cannot deputize? What about Alex?... Yes, yes I see! What's the order?..." While listening, she grabbed out her moleskine and a pen "..Rosie, that's too much for me alone. I need assistance!.. What? No... Yes. Yes, okay, I'll do it!.. Give me the address!" She scribbled something down on a blank page and for a weird moment, there was this picture in Johns head of how he appears on a crime scene with Charlie as a female Sherlock. He chuckled amused, until he realized that Charlie looked at him, really astonished. "I'm sorry... I just... Erm.. What did you say?" Charlie grinned at him. "Can you bake, John?"


	2. Chapter 2

"B...bake?"Now it was Charlie's turn to giggle a little bit. "Yes, Dr. Watson! Bake... You know, that thing you do with flour and sugar? It's a little like chemistry, that's something you should know!" As she saw his totally stunned face, she was short about laughing out loud, but then she turned serious again. "Seriously, John, I need your help!" She gave Andrew a hint while grabbing in her bag for her wallet. "I have to bake 200 cupcakes until tomorrow..." she took a look in her moleskine "..11 o'clock! I cannot bake and decorate at the same time! Pleeeeeeeease!" She looked at him, begging with big brown eyes, and even if he was thinking about saying no, he couldn't... So he sighed, nodded and when she began to thank him, he stopped her with a short gesture: "...but you'll have to show me exactly what I have to do!" "Oh, believe me, I will... It's not really complicated!"

After she paid, she grabbed her coat and turned around to look at John. "So, are you ready?" Another little smile from her seemed to intensify the effect of the two whisky he drank and he probably would have went with her anywhere if she only had asked. "Of course I am...!" He gave her a grin and after she had waved for a cab she took his hand to haul him to the car. When they were sitting in the back of the cab she told the driver the address and then turned to him. "Keep calm, you'll do a good job. I'll prepare the dough and bake the cupcakes and you just have to add chocolate frosting and decorations..." She laughs cheerful. "That's the best part!" John looked at her with a frown. "Oh, we have hearts, clover, confetti... Everything you could imagine. It'll be fun. We're doing cupcakes for a children's birthday. A big one!" She added. John accepted with a smile. "So, you bake! Is that your job?" "Yes, among other things that is my job. I also do baking classes for children and... oh, a lot of things! It's fun, really. I loved baking since I was a really little girl and did it every saturday with my grandma!"

John detected with surprise that her fingers began to tap incessantly on her leg. When she recognized that she had done it and he saw it, she stopped and pulled her hands under her legs. For a moment, the silence between them got embarrassing, until the ringing of her phone broke it. "Please excuse me!" Charlie took her phone out of the bag. "Rosie!... What?... Yes!... Yes, I have everything I need. I had bought all for the Summers-birthday... Yes!... Yes, I have assistance!... What? No! That's not your business! Be glad I've helped you out!... Good night, Rosie! I have to hang up now!" With a shake of her head she lowered her hand. "Your boss?" "Yes! No... Rosie owns a little bakery in Westminster and for bigger orders, she has a file full of women like me to help her out!" Johns look fell on the pink mobile in her hand. "You don't really like it!" He observed. She frowned, followed his glance and then laughed: "Oh, is it SO obviously?"  
Before she could answer the question, the cab stopped in front of a two-story house. "Here we are!" While she was looking for her keys, she told him: "My landlady's granddaughter considered that I need something fashionable. Do you have an idea how... convincing a 16year old could be?"She walked upstairs in front of him, unlocked a door and let him enter first. After she had switched on the light, he took a look around. A female flat, definitely, dainty and plain at the same time. "Make yourself comfortable. The living room is just straight on, I'll have to get changed!"John entered the small living room; a little sofa, a lamp beside it, a highboard, a tv. At the left the sight into the open kitchen. He stepped in front of her bookshelf, after he had lay down his jacket onto the sofa. "I really hope you don't deduce from my bookshelf to my mental state!" When she began to speak behind him, he jerked and turned around. Instead of the dress she wore now a wide tshirt and a jeans. Her hair was tied back in her scruff and he could see the pink hair-ends. Shoeless, she stepped besides him. "I'm reading nearly all, as you can see! Please, look around... I'll begin to do the dough!" She stepped over to the little hi-fi system and seconds later, soft piano sounds filled the air. "Usually, Bach is my only companionship! Good that it's different this time!" Her little smile let his heart tumble yet again.

She went over to the kitchen and he could hear her working. After he had looked at all her books, John went over to the kitchen, too. He looked around, wide-eyed: it was messy, each unoccupied space was filled with books, recipes, ingredients.. In the shelf behind her, he could see jars full of decorations; sprinkles, confetti, hearts.. he spent five minutes to look at all her treasures. She was busy filling the kitchen aid with flour, sugar, eggs.. "Wait, don't you need a recipe?" She looked at him, grinning: "John! Those are cupcakes. Do you have any idea, how many cupcakes I've already baked in my life?" She switched on the kitchen aid which began to stir the dough and stepped over to her shelf. "Now I'll show you what you could do! Come on over!" John went over to her, undressed his pullover and rolled up his sleeves, while she continued to grab in her shelf and gave him the option to sight her appearance. Even in her apparently worn down jeans and shirt she looked good; some wisps of her hair had liberated from the bun in her scruff and the pink hair-ends seemed to glow in the light of the kitchen-lamp. Beneath the bun, he could see a little tattoo. He moved closer to have a look at it: it was a little sun. "Didn't it hurt?" She turned to him with a questioning look. He pointed to her scruff; a little embarrassed she laid her hand over it with a chuckle. "It was a youthful misdeed. And no, it didn't hurt. Not much!" She looked up to him, suddenly overwhelmed by the fact of standing so very close to him. Then she made an effort and grabbed something from out of the shelf. "Powdered sugar! We need it for the frosting. And cocoa... oh, where are you?" She put away some books. Grabbed behind the kitchen aid. "Here you are! Luckily! Now we need cream cheese and butter... So, please could you go and grab the butter from the window board in the living room?" She murmured from inside her refrigerator and John went and get it.

They spent the next hours, focused and without lots of conversation. Charlie baked the cupcakes while John took care of frosting and decoration; and Charlie had been right - it was the most fun. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when they put the last cupcakes into the boxes and Charlie sighed relieved. "John! I cannot thank you enough for your help! I'll have to quickly clean up the kitchen, but how about you taking a seat on the sofa? Or would you like to go home now?" She smiled at him and even if he had said no, he couldn't have done it by looking in her eyes. "I have no plans for tomorrow, so I don't mind staying a little longer. However, I would like to take your offer with the sofa!" He grinned.  
Charlie put all things back to their place, then wiped the worktops and 15 minutes later, the only witnesses for their nighttime action were the cupcake-boxes. "Say, John, do you...?" She stopped when she saw John, on the sofa, his head fallen down to the backrest; he was sleeping. With a smile, she grabbed the blanket from the arm chair beneath the window and laid it over his knees.

Then she went back to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee. For a long time now, she needed not much sleep and this night, she was so pumped, so it was clear to her, that it would be another sleepless night. She took the coffee, sat down in her arm chair crossed-legged and grabbed the laptop. While it was booting up, she looked at the sleeping man on his sofa. She haven't felt so comfortable close by a man, generally in the presence of somebody, for a long time. The laptop showed the starting page and nearly the same time, a little window appeared:

K:_Hey lovely! There you are! How was your date with Dave?_

C_: Oh stop it! Dave was another wimp!_

K_: So you've spent your evening alone?_

C_: No..._

K_: No? Come on, tell me about it!_

C_: His name is John Watson, we both were stood up in the restaurant and I had slipped him a note._

C_: And then..._

K_: Wait a second! You did WHAT? You had slipped him a note? Why?_

C_: K, I'm an adult woman and it felt right!_

K_: Sweetheart, are you sure that you're in the situation for "it felt right!"? Damn, I cannot count the times I told you to be CAREFULLY. Well okay, tell me the rest_

Charlie did, she didn't omit anything. K was her friend, as long as she could think about. She knew everything about Charlie. And so Charlie told her all, once again, every detail, even this feeling of protection. Although she knew about K's aversion to sentimentalism

K: _Where is he now?_

C: _Here!_

K: _"Here_"? _You mean he's in your flat? Right now? Do you think it's time to... Well, it's your decision, but isn't it too early for..._

C: _He's sleeping!_

K: _?_

C: _He's sleeping. I've cleaned up the kitchen for 10 minutes and when I've come back, Dr Watson had fallen asleep on my sofa._

K: What?

C: _He's sleeping. On my sofa._

C: _Where's your reason to wonder?_

K: _I didn't meant that_

K: _afk_

C: _Where are you?_

K: _brb_

A few moments later, a message on the desktop showed that K had sent a picture. Charlie opened it and looked confused at a cutting from a newspaper, K had sent to her.

K: _Is THAT your Dr. Watson?_

Charlie took another look at the picture within the cutting. Indeed, it showed John. Before she found the time to read the article, K's next message appeared.

K: T_he guy besides him is Sherlock Holmes! Do you know him, too?_

C: _No, and why should I? Why do you have newspaper articles from London? K?_

K: S_weetheart, just because YOU had decided to ignore the life around you, including Arthur StCyr, that doesn't mean that I do the same! Somebody HAS TO keep an eye on your surrounding. And even there is an endless ocean between us, it seems as if I'm this SOMEBODY! I promised it to Peter and I'm willing to keep my promise! So! Think about! Sherlock Holmes!_

Charlie gazed intensely to the picture K sent to her screen.

C: _Now I remember! _

C: _I'll have to think. Seeya!_

Without waiting for K's reprise, Charlie quit the conversation. K sent several further messages, which Charlie decided to ignore. She spent the rest of the night, typing on her keyboard.

When John woke up the next morning, the first thing he heard was the clicking of a keyboard. Nothing new to him, Sherlock could stay awake for nights when he got deeply absorbed with a case. "Sherlock, I really hope it's your laptop for a change!" he murmured into his pillow. "Your roommate even seems to pursue your dreams, you poor guy!" When a female voice answered his question, he suddenly sat up and faced Charlie's smile. She sat on her arm chair, cross-legged, her laptop on her knees. John rubbed his forehead embarrassed. "I must have been... fell asleep. I... Pardon me please!" "There's nothing to pardon, John! You slept so very relaxed that I saw no reason to wake you up!" "And what about you? Didn't you...?" "Oh!" Charlie laughed, joyless. "I don't really need much sleep!" She put the laptop aside, stood up from her chair and smiled at him: "What about breakfast? Do you have time? I made fresh buns!" John rose up, stretched himself and put the blanket away. "How could I reject such a wonderful offer? But before I would like to..." He looked a little embarrassed. "Oh! No problem! The bathroom is right of the flat door, you can find a new toothbrush in the drawer beneath the washbasin. I'm in the kitchen..."

With these words she turned around and entered the kitchen. She had spent her sleepless night usefully with preparing dough for the buns. Now they were ready for the oven. After that, she set the table and prepared some coffee. She was so involved in preparing breakfast that she didn't notice John coming in, looking to her preparations. Wouldn't it be nice to have this every single day? A little appalled about his thoughts, he pulled himself together and cleared his throat. Charlie span round, a smile went over her face when she saw John. "There you are! Sit down. Buns are ready in a minute."

They took their breakfast together, but then Charlie sighed: "I'll have to get ready now. The cab will be there in a while to get me and the cupcakes. Please drink your coffee, I'll be back in a minute!" John sat there, staring at his cup, recalling the past evening and the night. Sherlock wouldn't believe him one single day, he would be sure. He smiled widely, while thinking of his roommate and took his phone.

**What about fresh buns? - JW**

**Did you stay in a bakery overnight? With pleasure! - SH**

John laughed to himself. What a great feeling to be able to surprise his roommate. "Are you ready?" Charlie's voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he looked up. Charlie stood in the door: she had changed into a striped longsleeve, her hair was stuck in a tidy bun and in her hand she held a beige coat. John stood up, got his jacket, then helped her with the boxes.

"What about me, carrying the boxes for you. And then get some buns as a reward for my roommate?"

After she had delivered the cupcakes, the cab had brought them back to Charlie's house. Now they stood in front of it. Charlie turned round to John. "Once more, I thank you for your help, John. Say..." It was more than obvious that she fought an inner fight with her courage. "What are your plans for the rest of this day?" "Oh!" John looked at her, surprised. "Well..." Charlie rose her hand, making a defensive gesture. "oh! No problem, if you have no time, then..." John shook his head. "No, that's not the point. I've got no further plans for the day, but..." His eyes looked down his crinkled clothes and he ruffled his hair. "It's just, I'd like to..." Charlie laughed. "John, everything is fine. I'll have to fulfill one more order today, a simple cake. So what about you write me down your number here..." She pulled her moleskine out and gave it to him ".. and I'll give you a call when I'm finished?!" John scribbled down his number and gave her back the notebook with a warm smile. "Sounds like a really great idea!"


	3. Chapter 3

When John entered the flat in Baker Street, his arrival already had been awaited. He knew Sherlock would be there, nothing would have hindered his roommate to examine and deduce him directly after he passed the door. But he hadn't expected Detective Inspector Lestrade. The Detective just consulted Sherlock in cases he had no idea what the corpse in front of him would like to tell him. "Ah, John, there you are again! Exhausting night?" John smiled; Sherlocks efforts for smalltalk were too droll. Actually he preferred to come to the point at once. For a short second, he thought about just going into his room without a word, to get dressed up..

*ping*

**Do you like cake? (The actually reason I write this message is to check that you gave me the right number!) - CL**

John laughed silently, while he was reading the message. "John?" Sherlock got impatient. "Sherlock, just look and deduce!" John lifted his mobile and typed his answer.

**So now I have your number, too. Of course I like cake, if it is not too exotic! - JW**

"Smile, upright, open posture, crinkled clothes... Watson, I may repeat myself, but you're a charmer!" "Oh!" Lestrade decided to join the examination too. "You don't have to be a Sherlock to draw this conclusions! Watson, you got to know someone!" John rolled his eyes; last thing he had on his mind was his hours spent with Charlie, unpicked by these two chaotic men. That's why he just pulled his mobile back in the pocket and stepped over to the little table, filled with pictures and files. "What do we have?"

The both men had been so involved in Lestrades case before he had came home that they were back in their discussion at once. "Unknown corpse, male, laid down near Hyde Park!" Lestrade summarized for him all the obvious facts. But when he and Sherlock got stuck back in their conversation, John used this occasion to leave the room unattended.

**Cake is already in the oven, similar as a marble cake; I hope that's un-exotic enough! - CL**

John grinned to himself, while he went upstairs to his bedroom to get new clothes from his closet. For better or worse, he had to confess that Charlie fascinated him a lot. Even from the first sight on, she kept fascinating him. He would love to know all about her, listen to her for hours but then again... something in his inside restricted him. Warned him to take it slowly, step by step. While his heart kept wanting to start an affair NOW, his head was the one with the doubts. For this moment, he pulled all this thoughts aside. He would see what the time will bring, maybe it was the best to do it this way.

When he entered the livingroom again, fresh showered, the hair a little damp, Sherlock and Lestrade had disappeared. He took his mobile, it showed one more message.

**Bring a book with you! - CL**

For a moment, John thought about what book he should take with him. But then he remembered the books he had seen in Charlie's shelf and he decided to take the book from his bed table.

**I'm ready! May I come and get you? - JW**

He began to run around in the flat impatiently, waiting for her answer. When his mobile pings, he nearly tripped over his own feet while trying to get to the phone.

**Cake just have to go to the fridge, so... Yes, would be nice! - CL**

When Johns message arrived, Charlie just had put the cake to the refrigerator. There it would stay until it had to be delivered the next morning.

**Hey K, I'm off to meet JW! - C**

No thirty seconds later, K's answer arrived; Charlie smiled to herself. She always could count on K. She seemed to be on her devices 24/7. It never had taken more than two minutes until Charlie had received an answer to a message she had sent.

**Hey babe! I wish you a wonderful date, of course. Nevertheless: take care of you! Promise me! - K**

**I do! - C**

Charlie put the mobile into her bag, added sunglasses and her book, too. She planned to surprise John with a picnic; the basket was already packed, now she just had to dress up. She spent a long time standing in front of her closet, gazing into it, then at least she decided to wear a comfortable jeans and a long-sleeved shirt in pink with a boat-neckline. She grabbed a scarf out of a drawer full of them and wrapped it round her neck. Then she put on the pink ballet pumps and stepped to the window.

John was not in sight, so she dwelled on her thoughts while gazing through the window. The yesterday's evening had been so different to what she had planned; so more wonderful than she had ever dared to dream. John seemed to be so perfect for her, in so many ways. But anyhow: his illustrious roommate (of course she had done more researches after the chat with K) made her nervous, even though she didn't know him now personally. And well... as much as K and her solicitude was going to her nerves sometimes, she was right. She had to take good care of herself. If the worst would come to the worst, she would be on her own. There would be no K to stay be her side.

She shook her head energetically; no more heavy thoughts now. Once more, she looked to the basket if anything was in his place, then she took her bag and the basket and went to the entrance. When her look fell on her key rack, it was her instinct that made her putting the replacement key into her bag.

When she left the house and put on her sunglasses (as nice the shining sun was, it hurt her eyes and blemished her sensitive skin so much), a cab held in front of the house.

A smile stole to her face when she saw Johns profile as he paid the cab. Then he dismounted, stretched his body - and his eyes fell on Charlie.

"Oh, you're already here!" with a smile, he came to her, embraced her and Charlie enjoyed his warmth and his scent. He noticed the basket that stood beside her. "What's your plan! You're not planning... a picnic, are you?" When she recognizes Charlie's startled look, he laughed and rose his hand to calm her. "Oh, no. Please excuse me! I didn't want... It's just... I've never been surprised with a picnic until.. today! Give me the basket!" He grabbed it, put his book inside and offered her his arm. "Where do we go?" "Greenwich Park is just around the corner. Thought we'd go and look for a nice place!" Charlie took a look aside, met his glimpse and she couldn't see anything else than anticipation in them. Her heart stumbled with the thought, that she had found such a perfect thing to surprise him.

"Do you live a long time here in Greenwich?" Charlie smiled (she could nearly hear K's whisper to "be careful") "Around two years now... And you? When did you return from... Afghanistan?" The moment the question had left her mouth, she cursed herself for it. There were millions of questions that were more harmless than that. John realized her strain. "it's nearly a year now since I came home... But don't let us talk about the past now. How about your cake?" Charlie giggled. "oh, as I said, it was a really simple cake. I cannot understand why people order this kind of cake instead of baking them by themselves!"

In the meantime, they had arrived at Greenwich Park and looked around now for a place apart from the crowds of people, which were enjoying the sunny day too. They found a place with view to the Thames, under a big willow. Charlie got the blanket out of her basket, stretched it on the ground and took place on it. She slipped out of her shoes and threw them aside carelessly. John followed, but put his shoes tidy next to each other to the edge of the blanket. With a cheerful giggle, Charlie reached out to her shoes and put them besides his ones precisely. "You're really good for a little bit more alignment in my life, John!" She smiled to him shyly. "I hope it's not all...!" He dared to respond. For a moment, her cheeks got coloured pink, then the instant was over and she turned over to the basket. "Well..!" She put aside the sunglasses and showed him, what she got in it. "Here's the cake, strawberries, sandwiches and... oh, coffee! I hope you're drinking coffee also apart from breakfast. I need it all around the clock!" With this words, she pulled out a big thermos jug. John grinned: "Perhaps you'd be able to get more sleep at night, with drinking a little less coffee!" With horror, he noticed the shadow that fell over her face. "Yes! Perhaps!" With a frozen look she grabbed around in the basket and got out two mug. "Listen.. Charlie! I'm... I'm really sorry, if...! I didn't want to..." Charlie laid one hand on his knee to interrupt him, making herself to smile. "John. Please! We both are no longer 18, so it's obvious, we both have a past. We should never forget this, but we also shouldn't let our past destroy our present!" John nodded to her approval. "You're right, but I really want you to promise me to tell me in case I've said something wrong. I don't want to recognize one day that you've disappeared because I've said something heedlessly! Will you promise that to me?" John looked at her insistently and she looked back seriously, nodding: "I promise! Do you like a piece of cake now?"

John accepted her sudden change of subject; it was his urgent desire to intimate Charlie how much she means to him right now. But he was relieved that she accepted it without keeping on about his words. He had expirienced this reaction with other women he had met in the past. As if they had been deeply despaired, they had begun to talk about moving together, marriage, children... Of course, John kept dreaming about all these things, but for him it was nothing to be talked about on the first or second date.

"Yes, with pleasure! And of course I'll take a cup of coffee!" He grinned and saw with relief that she answered his smile. She unpacked two mugs out if the basket, also a little milkbottle and a little box with sugar. She took a pink mug, to him, she gave a black and white-striped one which looks completely new. "Yes, it's a new mug!" Charlie approved his suspicion. "I thought, you'd prefer a less pink mug. Additionally I thought... Well... Hm.." In this moment, Charlie cursed, one more time, her talking without thinking before. Then she took a deep breath and continued her sentence: "... I thought, you'd come over again for a coffee and... yes!" She let her sentence uncompleted, but Johns heart did another jump when he realized what she would like to tell him with this words. "You have fresh buns for breakfast and your marble cake is the best I've ever had eaten before..." He chuckles quiet. For a moment, she looked at him horrified, but then she had to join his laugh. "Well, then we go along with this. Great!" For a while, they sat on the blanket, in silence, enjoying coffee and cake - and the warmth and affinity of each other.

"John, say... I saw the book you brought with you. Would you mind reading something to me?" Charlie looked at him expectantly. "What?... Oh, I don't know... Are you sure?" Charlie nodded and grabbed the book out of her basket. »Shakespeare's sonnets« John took the book and browzed through it to hide his uncertainty. He cleared his throat, then began to read. After some sentences, his embarrassement had flown away and he enjoyed the unusual tongue. From the corner of his eyes he saw Charlie stretching herself out on the blanket, her jacket as a pillow under her head and listening to his words with closed eyes.

He totally got sunk in this world out of words, felt pain and love, loss and joy. It was only of Charlies sobbing that made him stopped confused. When he looked over to her, he saw tears, running down her cheeks. He bent over to her, wiped away her tears and felt how she huddled her cheek against his hand. Her lips began to move, she spoke without opening her eyes. "»My mistress' eyes« was the favourite sonnet of my mother. She had read it to me so often when she'd brought me to bed!" She still kept her eyes hardly closed, her lips were shaking. John slipped over to her, pulled her head to lay on his legs. His hands stroked softly over her hair, her forehead, her chin.

After an eternity of silence, she took a deep trembling breath and continued speaking: "She died when I was 20. Cancer. I miss her so much... I miss her every single day since she had passed away!" When she opened her eyes, there was so much pain in its darkbrown depth, that John felt as if his heart had to break into pieces. For a while stormgrey got caught up in darkbrown, then John began to speak: "I'm so sorry about it, Charlie! I didn't know... I wished... I didn't want to...!" He stopped when Charlie rose and laid her finger on his lips. "Stop to excuse yourself constantly for things you haven't done, John! Please!" She let her hand slip over to his cheek, her thumb started caressing his skin. With a little smile to herself she noticed that John shut his eyes and enjoyed her touch; she could see his features relaxing constantly, because of her tenderness. She felt his warm skin beneath her hand, his beard stubble; a surge of luck flooded through her and she felt the crazy wish to just kiss him. For a moment, the intensity of her wish let her feel afraid, but then the tingling of feelings in her stomach gained the upperhand. She leant over to him, her lips met his mouth. His lips were warm and soft and after a moment of surprise, he returned her kiss. His hand slid into her hair, clasped her head and held her softly stuck on his lips. As their lips separated, he held her head in his hands for a little while, when he opened his eyes, he met her big smile. "Thank you!" she whispered. He couldn't stop smiling back to her: "Oh, I thank YOU!"

The sound of his mobile gave them a start and John grabbed it with a quiet curse. "Sherlock! Not yet. Please!"

**Your skills were needed in Baker Street! Come as soon as possible! - SH**


End file.
